Buddy Lucas (swimmer)
| Personal information | |
|---|---|
| Full name | Frederick Ross Lucas |
| Born | 22 May 1931 Auckland, New Zealand |
| Died | 18 October 2002 (aged 71) Auckland, New Zealand |
| Relatives | Fred Lucas (father) |
| Sport | |
| Sport | Swimming |
| Strokes | Freestyle |
| College team | University of Iowa |
Frederick Ross "Buddy" Lucas (22 May 1931 – 18 October 2002) was a New Zealand swimmer and surf lifesaver.
Biography
[edit]Lucas was born in Auckland in 1931, the son of All Black Fred Lucas. He was educated at Mt Albert Grammar School, where he excelled at rugby and swimming.[1]
At the 1950 British Empire Games he won a gold medal as part of the men's 880 yards Freestyle Relay and two bronze medals in the 440 and 1650 yards freestyle races.[2]
Lucas won a swimming scholarship to the University of Iowa in 1951, becoming the first New Zealander to win a sports scholarship to the United States. Lucas travelled to Iowa via the United Kingdom, where he won the 220 yards and 440 yards freestyle events at the British championships.[1] In 1952, despite being rated the second-best swimmer in the British Empire, his nomination for the New Zealand team for the Helsinki Olympics was rejected.[3]
In 1954 at the Vancouver British Empire and Commonwealth Games Lucas won a silver medal as part of the men's 330 yards medley relay.[2]
After his return to New Zealand from Iowa in 1957, Lucas worked in his father's menswear store in Queen Street, Auckland, and later was a sales representative for May & Baker.[3] He was active in surf lifesaving, having joined the Piha Surf Life Saving Club in 1944,[4] and served as the club's president for 16 years.[1] In 1958 he won the men's open individual surf race at the New Zealand national surf lifesaving championships.[5]
Lucas died in Auckland in 2002 after a short illness.[1][6]
See also
[edit]References
[edit]- ^ a b c d Potter, Tony (27 October 2002). "Buoyant Buddy worked on water". Sunday Star Times. p. 11.
- ^ a b Buddy Lucas - profile at the New Zealand Olympic Committee website Archived 20 February 2014 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved 12 July 2013.
- ^ a b Thompson, Wayne (26 October 2002). "Obituary: Buddy Lucas". The New Zealand Herald. Retrieved 12 July 2013.
- ^ Buddy Lucas 1931–2002. Retrieved 12 July 2013.
- ^ Romanos, J. (2001) New Zealand sporting records and lists. Auckland: Hodder Moa Beckett.
- ^ Thompson, Wayne (24 October 2002). "Rescuers salute Piha's local hero". The New Zealand Herald. Retrieved 12 July 2013.
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- 1931 births
- 2002 deaths
- Commonwealth Games gold medallists for New Zealand
- Commonwealth Games silver medallists for New Zealand
- Commonwealth Games bronze medallists for New Zealand
- New Zealand male freestyle swimmers
- Swimmers at the 1950 British Empire Games
- Swimmers at the 1954 British Empire and Commonwealth Games
- Iowa Hawkeyes men's swimmers
- New Zealand expatriate swimmers in the United States
- New Zealand surf lifesavers
- Commonwealth Games medallists in swimming
- 20th-century New Zealand people
- 21st-century New Zealand people
- Medallists at the 1950 British Empire Games
- Medallists at the 1954 British Empire and Commonwealth Games
- Sportspeople from Auckland
- People educated at Mount Albert Grammar School
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